There is a particular breed of maker that focuses almost all of their efforts on Halloween. Let’s face it — Halloween is a DIY-centric holiday. From pumpkin carving to costume making, to decorating your yard, when I think of the coolest Halloween ever, I think of uniquely carved pumpkins, homemade costumes, and crazy, animatronic yard decorations made from old doll heads and kitchen appliance motors. The humor and personality factor instantly plummets to zero when the costumes and decor are purchased from Big Box Mart.

The film The American Scream explores the motivations and preparations of three extreme Halloween enthusiasts in Massachusetts, who go all-out decorating their yards and houses with homemade props and animatronics for Halloween night. Part stage production, part obsessive tinkerer, with a sprinkle of psychological intrigue. It looks pretty interesting.

95% of the people that are going through [my haunted house] are strangers. I may never see them again. But they’ll remember this. They may not remember me, but they’ll remember what I’ve done.